scholarly journals Sonographic evaluation of the immediate effects of eccentric heel drop exercise on Achilles tendon and gastrocnemius muscle stiffness using shear wave elastography

PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilson K.C. Leung ◽  
KL Chu ◽  
Christopher Lai
Keyword(s):  
Achilles Tendon ◽  
Shear Wave ◽  
Gastrocnemius Muscle ◽  
Shear Wave Elastography ◽  
Achilles Tendinopathy ◽  
Muscle Stiffness ◽  
Eccentric Load ◽  
Lateral Gastrocnemius ◽  
Acute Bout ◽  
Gastrocnemius Muscles

BackgroundMechanical loading is crucial for muscle and tendon tissue remodeling. Eccentric heel drop exercise has been proven to be effective in the management of Achilles tendinopathy, yet its induced change in the mechanical property (i.e., stiffness) of the Achilles tendon (AT), medial and lateral gastrocnemius muscles (MG and LG) was unknown. Given that shear wave elastography has emerged as a powerful tool in assessing soft tissue stiffness with promising intra- and inter-operator reliability, the objective of this study was hence to characterize the stiffness of the AT, MG and LG in response to an acute bout of eccentric heel drop exercise.MethodsForty-five healthy young adults (36 males and nine females) performed 10 sets of 15-repetition heel drop exercise on their dominant leg with fully-extended knee, during which the AT and gastrocnemius muscles, but not soleus, were highly stretched. Before and immediately after the heel drop exercise, elastic moduli of the AT, MG and LG were measured by shear wave elastography.ResultsAfter the heel drop exercise, the stiffness of AT increased significantly by 41.8 + 33.5% (P < 0.001), whereas the increases in the MG and LG stiffness were found to be more drastic by 75 + 47.7% (P < 0.001) and 71.7 + 51.8% (P < 0.001), respectively. Regarding the AT, MG and LG stiffness measurements, the inter-operator reliability was 0.940, 0.987 and 0.986, and the intra-operator reliability was 0.916 to 0.978, 0.801 to 0.961 and 0.889 to 0.985, respectively.DiscussionThe gastrocnemius muscles were shown to bear larger mechanical loads than the AT during an acute bout of eccentric heel drop exercise. The findings from this pilot study shed some light on how and to what extent the AT and gastrocnemius muscles mechanically responds to an isolated set of heel drop exercise. Taken together, appropriate eccentric load might potentially benefit mechanical adaptations of the AT and gastrocnemius muscles in the rehabilitation of patients with Achilles tendinopathy.

scholarly journals Effects of an acute bout of dynamic stretching on biomechanical properties of the gastrocnemius muscle determined by shear wave elastography

PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. e0196724 ◽  
Author(s):  
George M. Pamboris ◽  
Marika Noorkoiv ◽  
Vasilios Baltzopoulos ◽  
Hulya Gokalp ◽  
Robert Marzilger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Shear Wave ◽  
Gastrocnemius Muscle ◽  
Shear Wave Elastography ◽  
Biomechanical Properties ◽  
Acute Bout ◽  
Dynamic Stretching

scholarly journals Shear wave and strain sonoelastography for the evaluation of the Achilles tendon during isometric contractions

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Schneebeli ◽  
Ilaria Fiorina ◽  
Chandra Bortolotto ◽  
Marco Barbero ◽  
Deborah Falla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Reference Material ◽  
Achilles Tendon ◽  
Shear Wave ◽  
Shear Wave Elastography ◽  
Strain Ratio ◽  
Achilles Tendinopathy ◽  
Isometric Contractions ◽  
Tendon Stiffness ◽  
Healthy Participants

Abstract Objectives Changes in mechanical loading as well as pathology can modify the Achilles tendon mechanical properties and therefore detection of these changes is relevant for the diagnosis and management of Achilles tendinopathy. The aim of this study was to evaluate strain and shear wave sonoelastography for their ability to detect changes in the Achilles tendon mechanical properties during a series of isometric contractions. Methods Longitudinal sonoelastography images of the Achilles tendon were acquired from 20 healthy participants using four different ultrasound devices; two implementing strain sonoelastography technology (SE1, SE2) and two, shear wave elastography technology (SWE1, SWE2). Results SE1 measured a decreasing strain ratio (tendon become harder) during the different contraction levels from 1.51 (0.92) to 0.33 (0.16) whereas SE2 mesaured a decreasing strain ratio from 1.08 (0.76) to 0.50 (0.32). SWE1 measured decreasing tendon stiffness during contractions of increasing intensity from 33.40 (19.61) to 16.19 (2.68) whereas SWE2 revealed increasing tendon stiffness between the first two contraction levels from 428.65 (131.5) kPa to 487.9 (121.5) kPa followed by decreasing stiffness for the higher contraction levels from 459.35 (113.48) kPa to 293.5 (91.18) kPa. Conclusions Strain elastography used with a reference material was able to detect elasticity changes between the different contraction levels whereas shear wave elastography was less able to detect changes in Achilles tendon stiffness when under load. Inconsistent results between the two technologies should be further investigated.

Age-Related Changes in Shear Wave Elastography Parameters of the Gastrocnemius Muscle in Association with Physical Performance in Healthy Adults

Gerontology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Jing Pang ◽  
Mingxiao Wu ◽  
Xiaoshuang Liu ◽  
Kan Gao ◽  
Yuan Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Shear Wave ◽  
Physical Performance ◽  
Gastrocnemius Muscle ◽  
Early Recognition ◽  
Muscle Thickness ◽  
Shear Wave Elastography ◽  
Step Length ◽  
Muscle Stiffness ◽  
Muscle Performance ◽  
Age Related

Background/Aims: to investigate new indicators for early recognition of physical performance decline. Shear wave elastrography, a new ultrasound technique, was discussed in this study. Methods: Gastrocnemius muscle thickness and muscle stiffness were detected by traditional ultrasound and shear wave elastrography in 108 Chinese aged 20–85 years, and then analyzed with physical performance together. Results: After 70 years old, the decline rate of muscle stiffness under contractive state was significantly faster than that of muscle thickness, muscle relaxed stiffness, and physical performance indicators. The correlation analysis showed that gastrocnemius contractive stiffness was positively related with handgrip strength, step length, and fast gait speed after adjusted by age and gender. Among physical performance variants, step length had closer relationship with muscle strength than repeated chair stands. Conclusions: The detection of gastrocnemius muscle by shear wave elastography reflected the change of lower-limb muscle stiffness with aging. Muscle contractive stiffness and step length measurement supplied novel ways for muscle performance and motor function assessment.

Effect of Rest Duration Between Static Stretching on Passive Stiffness of Medial Gastrocnemius Muscle In Vivo

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 578-582
Author(s):  
Masatoshi Nakamura ◽  
Shigeru Sato ◽  
Ryosuke Kiyono ◽  
Nobushige Takahashi ◽  
Tomoichi Yoshida
Keyword(s):  
Elastic Modulus ◽  
Shear Wave ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Shear Wave Elastography ◽  
Muscle Stiffness ◽  
Medial Gastrocnemius ◽  
Static Stretching ◽  
Shear Elastic Modulus ◽  
Before And After

Context: In clinical and sports settings, static stretching (SS) is usually performed to increase range of motion (ROM) and decrease passive muscle stiffness. Recently, the shear elastic modulus was measured by ultrasonic shear wave elastography as an index of muscle stiffness. Previous studies reported that the shear elastic modulus measured by ultrasound shear wave elastography decreased after SS, and the effects of SS on shear elastic modulus were likely affected by rest duration between sets of SS. Objective: To investigate the acute effects of SS with different rest durations on ROM and shear elastic modulus of gastrocnemius and to clarify whether the rest duration between sets of SS decreases the shear elastic modulus. Design: A randomized, repeated-measures experimental design. Setting: University laboratory. Participants: Sixteen healthy males volunteered to participate in the study (age 21.3 [0.8] y; height 171.8 [5.1] cm; weight 63.1 [4.5] kg). Main Outcome Measures: Each participant underwent 3 different rest interval durations during SS (ie, long rest duration: 90 s; normal rest duration: 30 s; and short rest duration: 10 s). This SS technique was repeated 10 times, thus lasting a total of 300 seconds with different rest durations in each protocol. The dorsiflexion ROM and shear elastic modulus were measured before and after SS. Results: Our results revealed that dorsiflexion ROM and shear elastic modulus were changed after 300-second SS; however, no effects of the rest duration between sets of SS were observed. Conclusions: In terms of decreasing the shear elastic modulus, clinicians and coaches should not focus on the rest duration when SS intervention is performed.

The utility of shear wave elastography in the evaluation of muscle stiffness in patients with cerebral palsy after botulinum toxin A injection

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 609-615
Author(s):  
Nurullah Dağ ◽  
Mahi Nur Cerit ◽  
Halit Nahit Şendur ◽  
Murat Zinnuroğlu ◽  
Bilge Nur Muşmal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Palsy ◽  
Botulinum Toxin ◽  
Shear Wave ◽  
Botulinum Toxin A ◽  
Shear Wave Elastography ◽  
Muscle Stiffness ◽  
Toxin A

scholarly journals Dry needling of the gastrocnemius muscle. Overlap between trigger point area and the presence of blood vessels

2019 ◽  
Vol 02 (02) ◽  
pp. 063-063
Author(s):  
Velasco Fernández P. ◽  
Valera Garrido F.
Keyword(s):  
Blood Vessels ◽  
Gastrocnemius Muscle ◽  
Trigger Point ◽  
Trigger Points ◽  
Medial Gastrocnemius ◽  
Dry Needling ◽  
Lateral Gastrocnemius ◽  
Myofascial Trigger Points ◽  
Gastrocnemius Muscles ◽  
Venous Pattern

Abstract Aims To evaluate the anatomic variability of the gastrocnemius venous system using ultrasound and the overlap of the same with myofascial trigger points (MTrPs 1 and 2) clinically located in this muscle. Material and Methods In total, 82 legs of 41 healthy adults were studied, belonging to 26 men and 15 women aged between 22 and 50 years. The blood vessels located below MTrP1 and MTrP2, described by Travell and Simons were observed, and each image was analyzed by sectors (medial, central and lateral) to quantify the number of blood vessels, their distribution and overlap with the MTrPs described at this level. Results Examination of the 164 heads of 82 gastrocnemius muscles revealed that at least one vessel exists for each section analyzed. The number of veins per head varied between 1 and 8. The most common pattern in the medial gastrocnemius was three vessels (41.5%) and two vessels (49%) in the lateral gastrocnemius. In 100% of the cases the localization of the veins coincided with the clinical localization of the MTrPs. Conclusions The venous pattern of the proximal gastrocnemius is highly variable among subjects regarding the number of blood vessels and their distribution. There is a complete overlap between the clinical localization of the gastrocnemius MTrPs and the presence of blood vessels.

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